March 13, 2008

I have MUCH sewing to do and so this morning I bit the proverbial bullet and cut out everything I have on my 'To Sew:' list.

It took about 3 hours (not counting a break for breakfast) to cut fabric for a set of aprons (light aqua petit fours fabric), an apron for my wonderful S-I-L (pretty purple floral), a jumper/pinafore for daughter (embroidered denim) and two for a friend's granddaughter (daisy and horse fabrics), a dress for my granddaughter the lovely Miss O (pink fabric in center), and sweet summer dress on order (sweet pink seersucker on the left.)

A great tip I learned long ago when you have several projects lined up is to put everything you need for a single project in a ziploc bag; fabric, pattern, thread, buttons, elastic, interfacing, trims, etc. all go in the bag and then when you are ready to sew, you don't have to stop and look for something or go to the store to get something you thought you had but can't find. But then, that probably never happens to you because you're more organized than I am. ;-)

April 19, 2007

Wow! Nothing like a trip away from home, with your sewing machine, to get things done!

A day long visit with friends was not only lots of fun, but very productive,too. I set up my sewing machine and we chatted while the children all played and I worked on a few of my projects.

*I was able to finish the last of the three dresses (pink one on right) as well as an extra dress (green) that I had started last spring along with this blue one! (see how bad I am?) I also got a tiered skirt finished for one of my grandaughters, the lovely Miss O!

*

And while all this sewing and chatting was going on, the little ones perched themselves up on this stepladder and made some cookies! Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. YUMM!

They look delicious, don't they? Well, when they came out of the oven, everyone couldn't wait to taste one!

We all took a bite and - - - ewww - - - what's that? They were really, and I mean really, salty!

The older boys took up the investigation into what happened and come to find out that the little ones added 1/4 cup of salt instead of 1/4 teaspoon!!

Oh well, a lesson learned. Luckily, friend and I had picked up a bag of new Strawberry Milkshake Oreos when we were at the store earlier so we had something to fall back on. ;-)

All in all, a very good day - spent with friends - What could be better?

April 12, 2007

Another one finished! Deadlines and special events spur me to action like nothing else. How about you?

Well, the special event that spurred this dress was a visit from Grandma. As I was getting everyone organized, bathed and ready for her visit tomorrow, Henrietta piped in that this would be a great time to finish the doggie dress that daughter has been wanting to wear for weeks. Thank you Hen! Into action we go!!

Fortunately, the skirt and bodice were complete, we just needed to gather & pin them together after sewing the buttonholes. Henrietta is quite the professional at this now and it was done in no time!

Collecting pins one by one by one as the seam is slowly and carefully sewn.

All Done! She's going to look great tomorrow (today!!) And please notice the pieced band around the bottom. What trouble we had when we got distracted while sewing that!! (Henrietta doesn't like to think of it ;-)

Now rest, Hen. Rest and dream. And thank you for your help and encouragement!

April 09, 2007

I've been slowly, quietly working on the Three Dresses and was spurred to finish this purple one for Easter!

These lovely sisters, the daughters of a good homeschooling friend, are just as pretty as can be in their coordinating dresses. I made the dress for big sister, and Mom made the sweet jumper for little sister.

Today I am sewing on the three dresses while the children take a "work day" off from school and clean up our planting beds in the backyard. The dogs are lazing in the sun, the chickens are hanging around to see what bugs the children dig up, the tortoise is still in hiding today, the parakeets are singing noisily to the birds outside, the hermit crabs are finished molting and are now scrambling around the tank, and the goldfish are waiting for someone to remember to feed them. Lunch is almost ready and God is good.

March 16, 2007

Hello again, Ladies! Henrietta and I have been busy, busy. We are making progress on our dresses, as well as a few other projects that have found their way to the sewing table! But our focus today is . . . . . Sleeves! Six of them to be exact!

Here we have the sleeve bands all pinned together and ready to be sewn.

They've been pressed and Henrietta has them all pinned in place on the proper sleeves. Back to the sewing machine!

Isn't Miss Hen so sweet? She watches over everything. Here she's making sure that the seam is straight and that the pins are pulled out before the needle sews over them.

Now it's time for the gathering stitches at the sleeve cap. Diligent Hen is there, too!

Pinning and Pressing is the name of this game. Luckily Henrietta is an experienced hedgehog. She learned to sew at her dear mothers' knee - well, little foot. (Do hedgehogs have knees?)

Ahhh . . . there now! The sleeve bands are all pressed and pinned and ready for sewing down by hand. That's a job we like to do in the evening. It's very restful and relaxing before climbing into bed! Is it just me, or does Miss Hen look a bit proud?

Here's what we have so far: Three lined bodices with banded collars, three banded sleeves and one pieced skirt edging.

Tomorrow we (Hen and I) will bring you up to date on all we've been doing -- sleeves, pockets and extra projects, too!